Category Archives: Vegetarian

Hamish’s Egg & Cress Sandwiches

Family Favourites, Vegetarian

Every Christmas Eve Hamish insists on making egg and cress sandwiches when we have neighbours round for a few drinks and snacks.
INGREDIENTS
1 half loaf white good quality medium cut bread
9 medium eggs
3 punnets cress
1 tbls good salted butter
1 tbls Hellmans
Salt to taste
METHOD
How difficult can it be. Boil eggs for no more than 5 minutes and scoop out while still hot and crush with a fork whilst adding the mayo and butter. Keep aside to cool but don’t put in fridge because it makes it too difficult to spread. Then go for it and spread eggs onto buttered slices. Cut the cress 1cm from the top and sprinkle over the slices. Top up and cut off the crusts leaving some to look home made. Sprinkle a wee drop cress over to make it look good.

Katie’s Focaccia

Family Favourites, Holidays, Starters, Vegetarian

unnamedIndredients
500g strong white flour
7g sachet fast action dried yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
300mls warm water
2 tablespoonfuls olive oil
Another 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil

Method
1. Put flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a big bowl. Mix up the olive oil and water and por onto flour mixture. Stir to mix and bring together with your hands into a rough ball.
2. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes to a smooth fairly soft dough. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with cling-film and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour until it has doubled in size.
3. Lightly oil a large baking tray 15″x10″.
4. Put the dough on to a floured surface and flatten out with your knuckles into a rectangle shape the same size as your baking tray and press out to the edges of the tray.
5. Again cover with loose cling-film and leave in a warm place for another half hour.
6. Preheat oven at 220C.
7. Now the focaccia should look puffed up and spongy. Poke the dough into dimples all over.
8. Drizzle the focaccia with 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil and sprinkle with chopped up rosemary leaf and sea salt. A few sprigs of rosemary will make it look nice.
9. Bake in middle of oven for 15-20 minutes or until risen and a golden brown.

Serving suggestions
Serve up when still warm with even more intense olive oil and salt, or as per photo, let it cool a bit and serve up full of good Italian ingredients like mortadella, rugala (rocket), roasted peppers, sundried tomato, mozzaralla and more.

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

IMG_1462
INGREDIENTS
1 Cauliflower
1 Red onion, chopped
4 Radishes, sliced
2 Large tomatoes, diced
2 Handfuls of chopped parsley
1 Handful of chopped mint leaves
Juice of one lemon
Salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil

METHOD
Process raw cauliflower in food processor until it looks like rice. Put in bowl and cover with cling-film. Pierce film and microwave on high for 7 minutes. Allow to cool totally and mix in all the other ingredients. Mix well and add a sprinkling of flaked almonds as garnish. How healthy does it get?

Porridge

Vegetarian

IMG_1019I have added this recipe as it fits ideally in the 5/2 diet in that it is under 200 Kcal and is a healthy breakfast.

Ingredients for 2 people
One third cup of wheat bran
Two thirds cup of jumbo rolled oats
Two cups of water
One teaspoonful of salt

Method
Mix and microwave for 7 minutes giving it a stir half way through. Serve with milk.

Masala Omelette

Hot & Spicy, Vegetarian

IMG_0876>Discovered in India but adapted to home.

Ingredients for one person, two eggs, finely sliced coriander stalks, diced hot red chilli to taste. Mix all together and fry in lightly oiled non stick pan. Serve on a morning roll. (In India they also might include diced red onion, chopped ginger and diced seedless tomato.) Waitrose sell frozen diced red chilli in sachets. Predictable strength is good compared to variable strength of the fresh product.